Needs: Definition and Examples

By Tristan Williams, Ph.D.
​Reviewed by Tchiki Davis, M.A., Ph.D.
We as people all have our wants and needs. But what is the difference between them? What makes a need so essential and what are they? In this article, we’ll define what makes a need a need.
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There are certain things we all require to get by. Whether they be the bare necessities such as food and water or requirements such as love and safety, we all have needs. However, the line between what is truly a need versus something we just want can be blurry.
In this article, we’ll define and discuss what needs are and how they are different from wants.
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What Are Needs? (A Definition)

A need can be defined as a “physiological or psychological requirement for the well-being of an organism” (Merriam-Webster, n.d.). In other words, a need is something that you can’t be okay without. This can range from food and water to human contact and socialization.
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Our needs can also differ depending on the situation. In general, we have needs such as food because without it we can die. However, if we’re talking about relationships, communication can be a need since, without it, that relationship can deteriorate. There is a range of meanings for when people say ‘need’ but in general a need is a requirement due to it being essential in some way.

Synonyms for Needs

People will toss out many different terms when referring to their needs. Some of these include:
  • Requirements
  • Essentials
  • Necessities
  • Demands
Some people mix up needs and wants. Later we will discuss their similarities and differences.

Examples of Needs

There are many types of needs. Luckily, researchers have separated them into different categories (Noltemeyer et al., 2021). These categories are below:
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  • Primary needs. This can include food, water, clothing, and shelter. These are the needs that you usually desire to fulfill first. For example, whenever you move to a new city, the first thing you are likely to consider is where you will live. You might need something affordable as well as a location that is accessible to other amenities, like a grocery store.
 
  • Secondary needs. These are needs that come after primary needs. This includes having furniture in your home or having a closet to place your clothes in. After locating a new place to live as your primary need, you may then add more qualifiers as a secondary need. Does the apartment have 1 or 2 bedrooms? Does it have a dishwasher? These are examples of secondary needs.
 
  • Tertiary needs. These are the least essential needs (and may be considered wants). For instance, this includes needing sports cars, brand clothing, or expensive vacations. Going back to the new apartment example, a tertiary need might be a luxury apartment. Does it have a balcony, a private gym, or other higher-end additions?​

Needs Versus Wants

It is only human to have both needs and wants, but sometimes it can be hard to differentiate between the two. Simply put, needs are essential and wants are not.
Here is a list to help better understand their differences:
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  1. Needs are essential while wants are non-essential. We need food, but you might want a cheeseburger.
  2. Our needs are ultimately limited – there are a set number of things required for us to survive. However, wants are unlimited – the sky (or your imagination) is the limit.
  3. Needs are usually referring to the present – if you are thirsty you need to drink now. Wants on the other hand, typically mean the future. You want a margarita after work.
  4. If you don’t get what you need, it usually results in harm. If you don’t get what you want, you’re most likely to be fine albeit maybe inconvenienced. You need a place to spend the night, but you’ll be okay if it isn’t a five-star hotel.
  5. Basic needs are usually static and don’t change over time (i.e. needing to eat and drink) while wants can change daily, even hourly. You’ll always need to stay hydrated, however, what type of drink you may want can vary.
  6. Needs generally will be taken care of before your wants.
  7. When planning a budget, needs always need to be met (food, rent, etc.) while wants are expenses that you could go without. You need to eat and sleep and it might help to endeavor to take care of those needs before spending money on designer clothes.

Ultimately, needs are required for life while wants are add-ons.

Needs in Psychology

In psychology, we know that some needs aren’t physical (Lester et al., 1983). Instead, some are emotionally based such as:
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Psychological needs are required for good mental health.

List of Basic Needs

Basic needs, or primary needs, are the most essential. These include:
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  • Food
  • Water
  • Shelter
  • Clothing
  • Sunlight
  • Sleep

Basic needs are the ones that you require for survival. Essentially, if you can’t live without it, it’s a basic need.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

It was in 1943 when psychologist Abraham Maslow first introduced his concept of a hierarchy of needs (Maslow, 2012). Through this, he suggested that people are motivated to fulfill basic needs before moving on to more advanced ones.

He was a humanist and believed that people have an ultimate desire to reach self-actualization, or in other words to be all they can be. However, to achieve this the lower-level needs were required to be fulfilled first.

There are five levels of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, starting from the bottom with the basics:

  1. Physiological needs. These include needs such as food, water, and clothing. These are also referred to as basic or primary needs.  
  2. Safety needs. We need to feel safe and secure in our environment. This can include financial well-being and health security.
  3. Social needs. This includes the need to be loved and to love. Belonging to a group of both friends and family is important to our psyche. Social needs are psychological needs.
  4. Esteem needs. This is the need to be recognized by others for our accomplishments. Esteem needs are also considered to be psychological needs.
  5. Self-actualization needs. This is the need to actualize our talents and skills. This includes obtaining the full use and exploitation of our talents, capabilities, and potentialities. People who achieve self-actualization are said to be fulfilling themselves and doing the best that they are capable of.

According to this concept, we can only obtain higher-level needs once we satisfy the lower levels. For example, we can only begin to meet our needs for safety once we have secured our physiological needs.

Below is a video explaining more about human needs.

Video: The Need of Self-Actualization

Needs in a Relationship

We’ve learned a lot of personal needs, but do they apply to other situations? When it comes to relationships, the strength and quality of the bond can depend on if the emotional needs are being met (Sels et al., 2016). Here is a list of needs in a relationship:
  1. Intimacy and Affection. Not everyone has the same love language, so it’s important to find out what your partner’s language is. Affection can increase closeness and in turn strengthen the relationship.
  2. Acceptance. Everyone wants to be accepted for who they are. Knowing that your partner accepts you can increase your feeling of belonging which is vital for a healthy relationship.
  3. Humor. Life can be stressful which in turn puts strain on our relationships. Humor can help put things in perspective and diffuse tense situations. Sometimes not taking everything so seriously can be what a relationship needs.
  4. Validation and Support. When was the last time you told your partner how much they mean to you? You may already know they are the most wonderful and amazing person ever, but often we humans like to be reminded. Validation can be powerful in keeping your partner's needs met. We all feel better when we know we have support.
  5. Trust and Security. Any healthy relationship hopefully leaves you feeling safe and secure. This includes feeling open enough to talk about your boundaries, your feelings, and your life goals. If there is trust in a relationship, there is strong communication.
  6. Empathy and Forgiveness. No one is perfect, no matter how hard we may try. Mistakes happen, for instance, let’s say your birthday is forgotten. Initially, you may feel anger or disappointment, but for a strong relationship, we need to be able to empathize with our partner. Maybe they’ve been going through a lot at work recently and struggle with anxiety. It’s important to try to be as charitable as possible in relationships. Offering your partner compassion and forgiveness can bring you two closer.
  7. Significance. A good relationship can make you feel significant. Your special someone hopefully makes you feel important and vice versa.
  8. Connection and Love. Another need in relationships is feeling connected and loved. This fulfills the third and fourth levels of Maslow’s hierarchy, tapping into the psychological and social needs we all have. Connections are usually quick to form, but love takes time. Like a garden, love takes tending to and care for it to grow.
  9. Space. Connection is important but so is having time for yourself. Space in a relationship means having the freedom to make your own choices and to feel supported by your partner. Humans are social beings, but we also need privacy. Sometimes this can involve having separate workspaces or places to relax at home. It’s unreasonable to spend every waking moment with your partner, and trying to do so can add stress and tension to a relationship. So remember to keep some time to yourself as needed.

Video: Exploring The Fundamental Needs Of The Human Mind

​How to Do a Needs Assessment

We’ve talked a lot about needs in their various forms, but how do you know what your needs are? How well do you know yourself? Are your most important needs being met?

A method to analyze these questions is through a needs assessment. Here is a brief rundown on how to do one (Royse et al., 2009).
  • Identify the possibilities. This first step is about discovering all the possible personal needs you may have. Write down things in your life that bring you joy and made you feel successful or unsuccessful, and then identify the related experiences. Then with this, try to identify the patterns of behavior that created these experiences.
  • Refine and shorten your list. Now that you have a list, let’s narrow it down to include only your most important personal needs. Identify the top ten experiences that appear most often then consider which of these include actual needs (again, your must-haves, requirements, essentials). Then from that list, select the top four personal needs that are most important to you from those experiences.
  • Create and execute a plan. From the previous steps you now have at least four personal needs. Make a list of activities/actions that will help you beneficially meet these needs, including the things you do every day as well as other extracurricular activities. For instance, if a personal need for you is to learn a new skill you may want to plan to go to a cooking class. Or perhaps if your personal need is creativity, you may take steps to start writing a new book or invest in painting. Whatever your need is, it could help to take initiative to plan and execute ways to fulfill that need.   

Tips for Meeting Your Needs

After identifying your needs, it may help to try and meet them to feel fulfilled. If you ignore your needs, it can become detrimental to your physical and mental health.

Here are some tips to help meet your needs:
  • Realize that having needs is not selfish
  • Ask yourself: what are my needs?
  • Accept your needs are what they are
  • Communicate your needs
  • Plan for your needs
  • Tend to your needs

Quotes on Needs

  1. “Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.” — John Muir
  2. “A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it.” — George A. Moore
  3. “You will be your best self when you take time to understand what you really need, feel and want.” ― Deborah Day
  4. “When you are balanced and when you listen and attend to the needs of your body, mind, and spirit, your natural beauty comes out.” — Christy Turlington
  5. “The most amazing thing about giving is we meet each other's needs.” ― Lailah Gifty Akita

Articles Related to Needs

​Want to learn more? Check out these articles:​​​

Books Related to Needs​

If you’d like to keep learning more, here are a few books that you might be interested in.

Final Thoughts on Needs

Needs are a natural and essential part of life. What is important is being able to differentiate between what we want and what we need and then being able to prioritize our needs.

Some needs are common across the board, but others vary between individuals. Our society is constantly evolving and changing—our needs may become more or less influenced by factors such as social, environmental, political, and cultural circumstances. For example, we are far beyond the times of hunting and gathering to survive, and in many societies we need education to take care of ourselves. In essence, education has become a modern need—some governments even now provide the services to get a college degree for free.
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Ultimately, what we need includes a large variety of physiological and psychological requirements. From food and water to love and respect, we all have needs that need to be fulfilled in order to be our best selves – to reach that fifth level of needs: self-actualization.

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